Story Within A Story (Rewritten!)
by RapidSammi
Summary: RATED T FOR A REASON, I PROMISE!
1. A Punny Beginning

**[ Minecraft: Story Mode ]**

 **[ Chapter One: A Punny Beginning ]**

 **[ Presented to you by Rapid Savvy. ]**

* * *

There was a forest that stretched around the bustling town of Northfalls. Most people were reluctant to wander into the extensive forest for fears of wandering too far and getting lost, and there were also the mobs to look out for, as they prospered under the shade the trees bestowed upon them. Some mobs, though, such as sheep, pigs, cows, birds, and bunnies, were friendly. Wolves were mostly friendly as well, although if you have the balls to provoke them...

Well, you'd better hope you can climb- and fast, because those shitheads will actually kill you with no regard of whether or not you even meant to hurt them.

...I've had a bad experience with wolves, shut up. A-anyway...

Numerous people were afraid to go into the forest for these exact reasons, but somewhere near the middle of the woods, there was a tree that stood proudly among its brothers and sisters, and built rather simply atop the tallest oak tree was a moderately-sized tree house, cozy and built with care.

It seemed to be inhabited, if the huffing and puffing that came from the inside was any indication, as well as the quiet scraping of stone against a wooden floor, and the thudding of wood on wood.

Inside the tree house were two people. The one making all of the noise was a young-looking man with shining violet-blue eyes narrowed in concentration. He had a short and semi-worryingly small frame, but he looked healthy enough, given the sheen to his pale skin and messy honey-brown hair. This peculiar young man wears a white shirt with a pair of patchy jeans, some worn old sneakers with week-old mud stains crusting the edges, and red suspenders to hold the baggy jeans up like a belt. And oddly enough, there was something shiny on one of the straps. It looked to be made of gold. How intriguing...

But anyway, that's enough said about him. His other companion was a darkly-skinned female, who was watching him practice his fighting skills on the scuffed up armor stand from a careful distance away. She had learned her lesson from the last time she stood too close to him while he practiced, and despite how many times he apologized for it afterward, she'd rather be safe than sorry... again.

"Would you rather fight a hundred chicken sized zombies or," She paused, and the man turned about half of his attention to her, throwing in a few more strikes with his wooden sword. "ten zombie sized chickens? Just to be clear, you wouldn't have any weapons or armor, so you'd have to fight them with your bare hands."

The woman is taller than him by about half a foot, and she was more on the lanky side, her dark onyx eyes that soaked up light like water to a sponge holding an amused glint now. She's wearing a tight-fitting white shirt with a button-up red vest, comfy black tights with a few tears in them, grayish-brown combat boots, and a pair of a green goggles that sit very loosely atop her head full of black hair, which was currently pulled into two pigtails to keep it out of her face, as it always seems to try to do.

He paused to think about the interesting question, his assault on the armor stand ceasing momentarily. "Ooh, that's a good question... I'm going to have to go with the giant chickens, because for one, they wouldn't be as violent as zombies, and two, they would be one heck of an abomination!"

"But think about their giant feet-"

"Olivia, no!"

Olivia laughed and let the subject go. "Okay, okay, calm down. Now, I've got a daylight sensor on the roof..." She took some redstone from her inventory and placed it on the counter beside her, smoothing it out carefully.

"Uh-huh?"

If she noticed his lackadaisical response, she didn't say so. "And if I'm correct, the lights should turn on when it gets dark."

"Mm-hmm." He hummed in mindless agreement, and she had to wonder if he was even listening to her anymore.

Probably not. Olivia reasoned to herself with an amused eye-roll. "I didn't want to leave Reuben with nothing while we're at the Building Competition." She says, testing to see how much he was really listening.

Immediately, her shorter companion stopped what he was doing and gave her a wide-eyed stare. "What? He's coming with us!"

"Really?" She asked in disbelief and surprise, crossing her arms over her chest. She though they had already gone over this several days ago! Maybe he hadn't been listening and had been mindlessly agreeing to everything she said. Again. He does that a lot, doesn't he?

The brunette sheathed his wooden sword as he walked towards her. "You gotta be kidding, Livs! Reuben always comes with us!"

A small pig with big brown eyes and a dark spot on his backside sidestepped away from the wooden armor stand, looking up at the two humans with a disgruntled look.

Olivia shook her head at his persistence, and threw her arms out in mild frustration. "Okay! I'm not saying he shouldn't come. I'm not!"

Reuben simply shot her a disbelieving stare and climbed up onto the window sill.

The lanky woman continued to voice her frustrations. "But Jesse, isn't it a little weird you take him everywhere you go?"

Jesse motioned towards Reuben with a determined stare directed at Olivia. "He's my wing-man; People always want to talk to the guy with the pig!" He declares enthusiastically.

Unfortunately, Olivia was quick to throw water on the leaping flames. "You mean talk about the guy with the pig." She responded bitterly. "Like, 'look at the weird guy with the weird pig. How weird.'"

Jesse's face fell, and his big smile was replaced with the kicked-puppy expression that melted her anger right away. She hated it when he looked at her like that, because they both knew she could never stay mad at him. She turned away from the boy and his "wing-man", lightly tugging on one of her pigtails with a sigh.

"I'm sorry, I just- Dang it, I'm so sick of being a loser! A laughing stock!" Her expression had contorted into fury by the end of her sentence, and Olivia had been speaking through clenched teeth. "It just..."

Her eyes lost that raging fire as she recalled the times they were all pushed around and made fun of, especially Jesse because of his childish nature. "It wears you down..." She muttered softly, internally kicking herself again for letting any of that occur. She was supposed to protect him, for Notch's sake! She had promised him!

"We are not losers, Olivia." Jesse fired back stubbornly.

Olivia averted her eyes, scowling. "Oh yeah, of course! And we totally don't lose at everything!" She should probably let it drop... though would it hurt to let out a bit of her frustration? "In fact, I can't remember the last time we won at anything!"

"But if that's the case, it means we win at being losers."

She finally cracked a smile. She would let him have this one. "Alright, fine." Olivia gave in bemusedly, shaking her head when he pumped his fist with a victorious grin.

"Ssss..."

"D-do you hear that?" The brunette asked in bewilderment, curiosity and nervousness making a combo display on his face. Reuben, still sitting on the window sill, watched on in open concern.

"Ssss..." Came a second hiss as Jesse crouched near the trapdoor, much to the other two's displeasure.

"Oh no!" Olivia gasped, staring at their only exit with wide eyes. She really shouldn't be letting Jesse just walk into danger like this, but he was stubborn as a freaking mule, as already proven.

She moved forward to pull him away from the danger, but **-**

"BOO!"

A creeper's face popped in through the trapdoor.

Olivia screamed and stumbled back into the bookshelf she'd been near, Jesse yowled and fell on his back in an attempt to scramble back, and Reuben squeals and tumbles off the window sill. All of these reactions happening at once, of course.

The creeper then pulled... its... head off? What?! Oh. Oh, okay. It was just their friend.

Their friend was actually a pretty big guy, although most of that bulk rested in his shoulders. He had laughing hazel eyes and a mop of dark hair that was chaotic like its owner. He dons a patchy green jacket, some black fingerless gloves, tan pants, and a pair of sandals. It was... oddly fitting of this six-foot-something dude.

Oh yeah, and he was also wearing the smuggest-looking grin ever. "Aw man," he chuckled heartily still holding the creeper mask in his hands. "you guys screamed so loud! That was awes—"

Reuben had just about enough, so he ran over and rammed his little head into the big guy's stomach with an angry squeal. He grunted and doubled over. Mostly out of surprise, if he were being honest. "Now I'm going to smell like pig at Endercon..." He grumbled to himself.

Olivia recovered quickly and stormed over, slapping his chest halfheartedly. "AXEL! What the heck?!" She shouted, just as angry as Reuben, if not angrier.

Axel nervously crossed his arms over his big chest, averting his eyes so he wouldn't have to stare into her dark eyes. "It was funny!"

Jesse, however, didn't join the discussion, as he was still sitting on the ground where he fell in wide-eyed and open-mouthed shock.

Axel looked down and he grew concerned. "Jesse, dude?" He crouched down and waved a hand in front of the brunette's face. "Dude? Are you okay?"

Jesse decided right then and there he would definitely punch Axel if he pulled that creeper stunt ever again. "You're the worst." He whined as he finally came out of his stupor, slapping the hand away from his face with an annoyed huff.

Axel chuckled, relieved that his friend was okay and amused by his annoyance, and he hefted his shorter companion to his feet with an unsurprising ease.

Ah, nothing like being jumpscared by your buddies, amiright? Yep...

He was still getting his sweet revenge on Axel.

Their pig-tailed friend sighed and facepalmed, then dragged that hand down her face in exasperation. "Okay, whatever. Axel, do you have the fireworks?" She asks through her fingers.

The prankster looked offended by the very question. "Yes, of course I do! I also got something for the little guy." He pulled a pair of black wings and a mask from his inventory.

Reuben curiously trotted over to him, and oinked happily as the little costume was strapped on. He felt so tough now! Rawr! He squealed and ran around the room when the big hands let him go.

"You're off the hit list for now, Axel!" Jesse declares as he bounced on the balls of his feet happily. You could practically see the stars in his eyes.

Olivia smirked when she noticed Axel slump in relief at this news, and she piped up. "Well, now you can really call him your WING-man."

Axel snickered a little, but Jesse's expression fell, and he gave Olivia the most deadpan look he could manage. "Get out before I conk you over the head."

The young man's companions burst out into laughter and obeyed him without a single protest, exiting their tree house through the hatch and down a ladder.

He waited a few moments to make sure they were far enough away before he groaned loudly and smacked his forehead against the wall. Reuben squealed in concern, but quietened when he heard what his human buddy was muttering to himself.

"Notch." Slam!

"Save." Slam!

"Me." Slam!

" _Please_." Slam!


	2. Flirting Overload! FLIRTING OVERLOAD!

**[ Minecraft: Story Mode ]**

 **[ Chapter Two: Flirting Overload! FLIRTING OVERLOAD! ]**

 **[ Presented to you by Rapid Savvy ]**

Olivia looked up at the trapdoor with an annoyed expression. "He's been up there for a while now! How much longer is he going to take?" She complained to the broad-shouldered man standing idly beside her.

He chuckled at her sheer impatience. Ever since they were kids, she's always been one to absolutely hate waiting. "Who knows? It's Jesse, for crying out loud; he takes hour long showers." He jokes.

Her dark eyes darted to him, and twinkled in delight. "True." She snickered. "Say, would you rather have a chest full of enderpearls or a chest full of food?" She asked.

He pretend to think for a moment, although he already knew what he was going to say. "Gotta go with a chest full of food." Axel answered, grinning when she made a face at him.

"Enderpearls would be nice," A voice above them spoke, interrupting whatever the pig-tailed girl might have said. "it would save me a lot of time getting around."

Okay, did they really even have to look up to know who was talking to them? It was everyone's- Well, maybe not everyone's- favorite badass mercenary friend, Petra. Currently, the redhead was hanging upside down from a tree, with only her legs holding her onto the branch.

Petra was a total tomboy, from her bandanna-covered-head to her booted feet.

Olivia was really quite jealous, actually, because seriously! How athletic is this woman? Hanging from a tree like a freaking monkey?! With only her legs supporting her?! Preposterous! "Petra, why-"

"You don't wanna know." The mercenary's devilish smirk didn't waver, even as she changes the subject smoothly. "Have I ever said how much of a dork Jesse is?"

They stifled their giggles, because yes; she had, in fact, told them many, many, many times how dorky their short friend was. Whether Jesse freaked out over the smallest detail, fanboyed over his favorite hero, talked and/or argued with himself, tried to make himself seem taller, or came up with the most out-of-the-box ideas ever heard of, Petra would always dub him a dork and then maybe proceed to tease him about it if she stayed for long enough.

Those were the times that they found Jesse fuming for hours on end and mourning over his bruised pride.

Petra grinned upon noticing their bemused expressions, thinking that meant they agreed with her. "Welp, I better be off. See ya on the flip side!" The mercenary winked and swung herself to another tree, and so on.

There a few beats of bewildered silence between the two friends, before they burst out with a giggle fit. "She is thy mystery no one shall puzzle out!" Axel stated dramatically, to which Olivia just laughs even harder at.

"What are you guys laughing at?"

They turned around and noticed that Jesse had come out while they were distracted. How did he get down the ladder so quickly, anyway?

"Nothing." Axel waves the question off with a funny expression, and Olivia was no different.

Jesse squinted at them in suspicion, his nose scrunching up as if he could detect the lie he was being fed. He accepted it, though, and let it go. "Okie dokie lokie..."

* * *

"NO MORE PUNS!"

Petra's concentration snapped when she heard the voice shout from below, and she ended up miscalculating her jump, just barely managing to catch the branch she was aiming for. A few leaves scattered as the branch wobbled dangerously with her weight.

She clung to the branch tightly once she was fully on it, and glared down past the leaves toward the source of the shout. Her glare softened when she realized just who it was she was looking down at. It was her friends, and they were probably heading to the Building Competition about this time. She automatically smiled upon spotting her favorite of the trio- excuse me, quartet.

So cute~! She snickered as she watched the brunette stomp toward the tree she was in. The other three were trailing after him, laughing.

"Sorry dude!"

"Save it!"

The redhead decided that she had enough time to drop in and just say a quick hello to the dork. Maybe annoy him and tease him a bit-

She then had a devious idea.

Petra swung from the branch and dropped down on the ground in a crouch right in front of the boy who she was currently targeting, and Jesse stumbled back at her sudden arrival, violet-blue eyes wide in shock. _Such pretty eyes._.. She mused to herself. Maybe even prettier than the sky at night. _I don't know, I'll have to see for myself later._

"P-Petra?!" Jesse squawks once he gains his composure.

She jumped out of her daze and fixed him with a cheeky grin. "Heya, Jesse!" She greeted him, and took a moment to appreciate the size difference between herself and Jesse. "You know, Jesse, you're always doing these goofy, adorable things, but this just takes the cake!"

Her poor, innocent victim's face was already flushed pink. "W-what?!"

"Yeah." Petra chuckled, and backed him up against a tree, placing her hands on either side of his head. "You really ought to stop being so damn cute- you might make me malfunction and do something naughty~"

 _Yes, he's cherry-faced! SCORE!_

"HHHH-"

What an odd noise... She loved it!

She mimicked his voice near perfectly as she quoted him, deciding to hit the final nail in the coffin. "'Give me a dragon roar, Reuben!'"

Reuben, who had been snuffling nearby, lifted his costumed head when he heard her. "ROOOOIIIIIINNNK!" The pig squeals out, enacting the same roar-oink she had heard while eavesdropping. Yes, she was eavesdropping. NOT STALKING. Don't get the wrong idea there. "'That'll do, Reuben, that'll do.'"

"P-Petra!"

"J-Jesse!"

A fire entered those pretty violet-blue eyes- vlue, as she liked to call them- and Jesse ducked under her arm. "Screw off, copperhead!" He was just so nice, wasn't he? He even gave her a little nickname! _So cute~_

She leaned against the tree she had trapped him against and winked back at the fuming boy. "No thanks, cottontail." She retorted. She knew calling him this would be the final straw for the boy, and she was right; Jesse's face flushed even darker, and he began to storm away with his clenched fists to his sides.

Just like an angry little rabbit.

"I don't even have a freaking tail!"

"You did last year~"

"And I regret wearing that stupid costume!"

"But you were so cute with your wittle fuzzy tail and big floppy ears!"

"SCREW OFF!"

Petra decided that now was a good time to stop and leave him be. He had a competition to go win, and she had a deal to go fulfill. She couldn't keep stalling like this, as much as she wanted to.

So the redhead barked out a laugh and said a brisk "see ya" to the group, climbed up the tree she was once in, and continued on her merry way.

She wasn't done teasing him, though. Just for now.

Jesse could not believe that Petra actually brought up that horrifying memory. Oh yeah, he had apparently decided that wearing a rabbit costume was the greatest freaking idea ever.

Well, he regretted that decision quite quickly, and he still does today.

Stupid freaking redhead... flirting like that... trying to fluster him...

...And succeeding every single time...

Oh, wonderful...


	3. May the best team win!

**[ Minecraft: Story Mode ]**

 **[ Chapter Three: May the best team win! ]**

 **[ Presented to you by Rapid Savvy. ]**

The three humans and their pig- I mean dragon- companion had finally made it. They just needed to find the sign up booth now!

"We know what we're building, we got all the stuff for it... We are SO ready!" Axel's voice interrupted the silence that had befallen the group. "Don't you agree, guys?"

Olivia seemed to have some confidence, as she did, in fact, agree. "Yeah! This year will be different. I'm not just ready to build, I'm ready to WIN." She says with a small grin, hardly flinching when the unquenchable ball of energy she called a friend yells out a cheerful affirmative.

That's probably the cue for- ah, there we go. A bystander walks past them with a blue-gray hat. "Nice pig, losers." The person jeered without stopping.

The group came to a stop after that rude remark. The big guy had visibly bristled, Olivia was glaring as hard as she could at the back of the jerk's head, and their optimistic friend just huffed and bent down to pet Reuben. At least Reuben didn't hear that rude comment.

Once that tense moment passed, the friends looked around and **-**

Oh.

Oh no.

Well, uh, at least they found the sign up booth, right?

"Oh, great. Lukas and the Ocelots." Axel scowl got just a little deeper. "And I thought today actually had a chance of being even remotely okay."

The dark-haired girl sighs dejectedly, all of that earlier confidence draining like water on a scorching day. "They have matching leather jackets and everything." She points out glumly. "So cool..."

Jesse wanted to console his friends and tell them not to give up so easily, but that's when a certain green-eyed shark turned around and saw them staring.

"Well well well..." He sneered, catching the attention of the other two standing beside him. "Look who just showed up." That's Aiden, probably the most obnoxious one.

"Great." A pretty brunette rolled her baby blue eyes disdainfully beside him. "The fail squad's here." Maya, the only girl in the Ocelots.

The one with a beard smirked and nudged someone behind him. "Lukas, get a load of these losers!" Ah, but you can't forget Gill. He's just like the child playing pretend. In other words, he's more lenient in the bullying. A little. Okay, that's a lie, he's just as bad as the other two.

'Lukas' tensed up when he felt the elbow roughly jab his ribs, and he realized who they were talking about, wanting so badly to apologize to them for his friends' behaviors. Instead, he went through the gate, barely turning his head as he spoke to his teammates. "Come on guys."

The three bullies followed their blonde leader, but not without throwing smug looks back at the 'losers' as they were called.

 _No_ , Jesse decided with a determined puff of his cheeks. _I will not let you jerks dampen my mood!_ They could be nice people if they tried, he just knew it! There was hope for them.

He wouldn't accept his friends arguments, no matter how right they thought they were. After all, the golden rule still applies: treat others like you want to be treated.

Now come on, do you really think they will learn to be nicer if you return their hostile behavior? No, they really won't. They'll think it's okay to treat you like that and keep doing it when it's really not okay.

The boy smiles and rested a hand on the dejected Olivia's shoulder, and her eyes softened while she hesitantly returned the smile.

The group shuffled forward to the sign-up booth, and were greeted by a lady with black rimmed glasses and a cheery grin. "Hello, hello! Name, please?" She asks, clicking her pen.

Axel answered before either of them could open their mouths. "Axel, and a how do you do?"

...What is he playing at here?.. You could practically feel the amount of squinting Jesse and Olivia were doing how the hell do I even word that properly? toward their bulky friend.

The lady's eyes widened, clearly flustered as she hastened to explain that she had actually asked for a team name, not their personal individual names. Axel registered this with a pink blush spotting his cheeks. Oopsie!

You think he'd know this since he's been here before, but alas.

Jesse snickered and told the equally-as flustered lady to put them under as the "Order of the pigs". Olivia was just giggling quietly as she patted the big guy's shoulder in a rather terrible attempt to comfort him.

The woman nodded and shooed them away to their assigned booth- Booth 4. The lady was nervously fixing her glasses as she scribbled down their team name. Every single year, she swears.

Axel was trying so incredibly hard to will away the mortification on his face- and failing terribly at that- while he grumbled and went through the gate. Or he tried to at least.

Yeah, he's kind of stuck.

Notch just loves to embarrass him, doesn't he?

While the big guy struggled valiantly against the evil gate- oh no, so terrible!- Jesse had fallen into a deep web of thoughts and worries and whatnot. His mind was a dizzying maze of darkness.

The brunette was jolted back to the realm of the living when he heard snickers and giggles that most definitely did not belong to his friends. He looked up and winced. Yep, it was the Ocelots.

Of course it was them. His friends never get a break, do they?

He bristled unknowingly, because no, his friends are always being harassed! No matter how hard he tries to keep their spirits up, they're always just kicked back down and then kicked down even further. Now don't get him wrong, he isn't particularly angry at anyone. Disappointed, sure, but anger? It had never really been his strong suit.

"Jesse?" The brooding teenager blinked and looked away, realizing how hard he had been, uh, staring at the Ocelots. "Come on." Olivia took him by the hand and dragged him through the gate and toward their booth.

Not that he minded of course, he probably would have continued glaring if she hadn't done so.

"They have a beacon?!" Axel almost squeaked as he gawked at the other the team. "A freaking BEACON?!

Jesse stumbled when his friend's slender fingers unexpectedly released him, his forward momentum plus gravity causing him to trip and fall flat on his face like the clumsy idiot he is.

Ground: 1, Jesse: 0.

So that's how it is huh? Fine.

With a huff, the brunette picked himself up and dusted himself off, listening to his friends.

"Huh, and we thought we had a chance before." Olivia says glumly, and gestured to the leader of the Ocelots as he pulled out something colorful. "That's stained glass. They're not just building a beacon. They're building a RAINBOW beacon!"

"We're gonna lose again."

Oh come on! Can he not keep them optimistic for one dang hour?!

...Apparently not.

Puffing out his cheeks, he called their attention to him. "Hey!" two sets of eyes looked at him. "Our build is gonna be so much cooler than some stupid fancy lights!" He tried to encourage them, instantly feeling bad for dissing the other team. They didn't deserve that, even if they had been rude.

Well, at least that seemed to cheer up them up some!

Olivia spoke up after a long pause, grimacing. "We should probably stop staring-"

"Ha ha ha!"

Well, too late for that.

"Look, it's the Order of the losers again!" Gill sneers, grabbing only two of the Ocelot's attention, who both turn around and smirk when they see what had amused their friend.

Maya laughed. "Good one, Gill!"

Oh COME ON! He just got them to smile, diddly-darn it! Those guys better not ruin his work!

Who is he kidding? Of course they will.

"We were just looking." Olivia pointed out, ever the queen of good comebacks. Do you smell sarcasm? Because I don't.

The green-eyed shark seemed to agree with the author- brownie points for me then!- because he merely raised a brow. "There's plenty of time to look at it after it wins and gets shown at Endercon." Aiden commented scornfully.

The brunette tried really hard not to roll his eyes. He swears he tried!

"You're being unpleasant." His bulky friend growled as he eyed the other team.

Jesse comes forward, standing almost protectively in front of his friends, staring the bullies down as if he were taller than them instead of the other way around. He refused to let anyone pick on his friends.

Green eyes narrowed at the smaller boy, appearing amused by his attempt to hide his friends from them. "Maybe not all of you, but-" And those eyes darted down to the disguised pig with his smirk growing in size. "-Endercon doesn't allow outside food and drinks."

Reuben squealed in fright at the taunt and quickly clopped as far away as he could from Aiden and his two goons while his human pal had frozen up with a look of shock.

Then it turned to bristling fury after the comment finally registered. Nobody... and I mean NOBODY... Messes. With. Reuben. Unless you want to die.

"Reuben." Jesse stepped forward, looking like a feral wolf with his hackles raised and eyes glaring. Aiden took a step back in surprise. "Is." Another step forward, another step back. "Not." Step forward, step back. " **Food**." One more step forward, one more step back.

Aiden tried to gather his composure again. "Oh really? He looks like he'd make a good pork chop." He managed to keep his smirk through his discomfort at seeing a sudden hostility from the pacifist.

That comment did not help pacify Jesse at all. If anything it only served to irritate him further.

The friends of the opposing boys were kind of just watching this happen with wide eyes, because damn, this had never happened before.

Lukas, checking a chest in the background, had finally caught on to what was happening and scolded the other three Ocelots. "Guys, stop wasting your time. Come on!" He gestured at them, a bit sharply at that.

The green-eyed shark seemed relieved when he said: "You're lucky we're busy." Then he, along with Maya and Gill, drifted away.

To be honest, he was probably lucky the blonde had interrupted the spat before things got really messy.

It definitely took a good few minutes to calm him down, and just when they succeeded in doing so, a hand rested on the boy's shoulder.

With a scream that may or may not be laughably shrill for him being a male, Jesse whipped around and tried to jump back at the same time. Key word: TRIED.

What happened instead was that he fell on his bottom in front of whoever it was that decided grabbing his shoulder was a fantastic idea.

Oh.

Okay.

it was just their favorite mercenary... Not so much Jesse's favorite person at the moment. Or ever, actually.

And better yet, she was laughing her ass off.

Wonderful.

"O-oh my gods!" The redhead managed to wheeze out with a breathy giggle. "Oh my g-gods, Jesse!"

Meanwhile, his face was burning like the surface of the Sun, and let me tell you; the sun is very, VERY hot. "Shut up, Petra."

Petra swears his face got an even brighter shade of red when she rested her elbow atop his head in order to stay upright, and she stashed that interesting thought away to think about later. So add this to the list of "Things about Jesse; the dorkiest of them all".

That's probably fairly valid, I can't lie.

Axel and Olivia were driven to deep-belly laughing in the background, desperately trying not to be too loud. I mean- they are in public after all. Laughing a tad too loud would definitely draw some stares. Also, they wanted to hear the silly banter going on between the two. Don't tell Jesse, because he will have a hissy fit, but they rather liked watching these hilarious moments between him and Petra.

Seriously, don't tell Jesse! Don't break the fourth wall!

It took a little while, but the group of friends calmed down some. They were still giggling, so they're probably prone to start laughing all over again at the next silly incident.

The mercenary kept her elbow on his head, the action intended to annoy him now. "So, how's the build going?" She asks with a cheeky grin, knowing full well without even looking that Jesse was giving her the most miffed look he can manage with those round cheeks.

She couldn't think he could ever be daunting. Scratch that, he probably couldn't pull off anything other than being adorkable. Those words are gonna bite you in the ass, Peets.

"Eh," Axel shrugs, noticing his shorter friend's growing irritation with clear amusement in his hazel eyes. "Pretty well, considering it didn't even start yet. Jesse's kept our hopes up though. Isn't he cool?"

With that strong praise, the brunette jolted in surprise and averted his eyes shyly. "I'm really not. I'm just a failure." He mutters almost inaudibly, unaware of the redhead who frowned when she heard him say that.

No way is she going to let him think so lowly of himself.

"Yeah, he's pretty great." Petra agreed, bemused when Axel and Olivia shared sneaky glances with one another. "What's with those faces?" She asked despite the fact she probably knew the answer.

Wouldn't hurt to confirm it though.

Before either of them could answer, if they even were going to, a voice interrupted their conversation. "Oh! Hey Petra, I forgot to thank you for that nether star."

She turned her head toward the speaker and smiled. "Hey Lukas. No problem." She answered, finally taking her arm off Jesse's head, much to his blatant relief.

The redhead noticed that Axel and Olivia seemed to bristle a little when she confirmed that she helped the Ocelots, yet Jesse seemed to perk up a little with a giant smile, as if he knew something his friends didn't.

Interesting. Very, very interesting.

Then again, this was Jesse. He had the strongest hopes and dreams. He believed in anyone and anything, encouraging them and telling them they have a purpose in life. He cheered up homeless people on the streets when he was in town, scolded a burglar after stopping them from stealing his money...

Let's just go ahead and say that she had never seen a thief cry until then.

"Welp, I best be off." Petra says to stop her mind from wandering any further, already beginning to walk away. "If you need anything, you know where to find me." She tossed that last sentence over her shoulder with a playful smirk directed at the suddenly wide-eyed brunette. He definitely heard the innuendo.

Ha! Kidding, get your freaking head out of the gutter. The flirting will come soon, though, I promise.

Anyway...

Olivia looked so done with Petra's bullshit. "But nobody knows where to find you!"

"Exactly."

Yeah, Olivia deeeefinitely did not facepalm mentally and physically when she heard that smug as all hell answer.

Once the mercenary was swallowed up by the trees, Lukas spoke up in halting English. "So..." And he winced when six sets of eyes were drawn to him, barely noticing it when his dark-haired friend came to stand beside him. "Uh... If you're cool with Petra, you're cool with us. So, uh..." Lukas held out a hand.

The three members of the Order of the Pig actually felt a little bad for the blonde, he looked so nervous.

"Maybe we can put aside our differences-" That gained derisive snorts from five people and a confused oink from a pig. "-and, uh... may the best team win?" His voice sounded so hopeful, and who was Jesse to deny him of some friendly competition?

Jesse accepted the outstretched hand with a competitive grin nearly splitting his face in half. "You're on, pussy cat." He squeezed the surprised blonde's hand before he backed off. "Be ready to lose to us!" He says playfully.

Lukas smiled, his tenseness fading away just a little when he realized that the other wasn't going to be hostile. "Oh, of course." He chuckled lightheartedly.

"LADIES AND GENTLEMEN!" They realized they had just talked through an entire speech and quickly turned away to focus on the announcer. "MAY THE BEST TEAM WIN!"

Two leaders locked eyes; one with a knowing and competitive smirk and the other with playful and smug grin in return. It's just some friendly competition, right?

Yeah.

It's not like anything bad will happen!


	4. Runaway dragon- I mean pig!

**[ Minecraft: Story Mode ]**

 **[ Chapter Four: Runaway dragon- I mean pig! ]**

 **[ Presented to you by Rapid Savvy ]**

Jesse made his way through the forest nervously and as quickly as possible while calling for Reuben, his fear growing the darker it got around him. After they had built their fireworks dispenser and creeper, he noticed his little friend running away and squealing in panic while he was on fire. Axel had told him that it'd been Aiden to break a block holding back lava, and while he wanted to believe the Ocelot was better than that, he did threaten Reuben...

He glanced around as pigs shuffled about nearby, either ignoring his presence altogether or quickly trotting away when he called for Reuben while passing through. He noticed a carrot floating nearby and speed-walked over it, apologizing upon almost tripping over a pig. He took the carrot and put it in his inventory to give to Reuben later, and continued onward.

He spotted some bushes and walked over, hesitantly reaching out to part the bushes so he could see what lied within, if anything. He yelped and sprang back when a chicken came flying out with a loud squawk, then settled a couple of feet away. He shuddered, hand over his heart. "You jerk... You scared me!"

Jesse continued his search, walking for what felt like maybe an hour before he finally came across the smoking ender dragon costume. And upon closer inspection, much to his relief, there was no pork chop floating nearby, though there was also no sign of Reuben, either... He sighed and stomped out what he could of the smoking costume and carried on, far mire warily now.

The sun should be completely set in the next few minutes, if he's calculating correctly.

He paused as he came across a cave opening with a river sitting beside it innocently. From the other side of the small river, he could swear he saw another patch of bushes quivering a little. He's not crazy, he saw it move! And quite frankly, I can confirm the grass was moving.

With some careful assessment of both pathways- and common sense, because, yanno, going in a cave at night time? That's basically freaking suicide!- he decided on going across the river, just because it was far safer, far quicker, and likely the overall brighter choice.

He squints in the growing darkness, vlue eyes narrowing in on the quivering bushes. Something was most definitely in those bushes. Hostile or docile, he didn't know yet, but he would sure as hell figure it out.

The brunette drew in a breath and held it for a few seconds before releasing slowly, his whole body tense as a set spring as he shuffled forward slowly and warily. He gasped when a small pink figure jumped out and began to nuzzle at his legs. It took him a moment to register what- or who, rather- the pink figure was before his face lit up.

"Reuben!" Jesse cheers and crouches down, enveloping the pig in a gentle hug. "You do NOT know how happy I am to see you!"

Reuben oinks in response when he is released after what could've been a minute or two. The two grinned at one other in almost drunken relief, because frick you, nature! They had found one another! They were safe!

Groans erupted from behind them, and Jesse makes quick work of looking over his shoulder- Hhhhahaa! Nope, they weren't safe after all!

"Oh, okay. Run, little buddy, run!" He shouts and darts off, Reuben hot on his heels with terrified squeals among the zombies groaning and his human pal's panting.

This was going to go well!

Oh for the love of—! THEY'RE GOING TO FREAKING DIE!

Jesse ducked behind a tree and glanced down at Reuben. "I think we- oh no!" He shrieked when a creeper sneaked up on them and exploded, sending the two flying quite high. They landed roughly on the ground behind a sizable mound of dirt, and the brunette groaned out: "Maybe now we're safe now-" An arrow to the shoulder told him otherwise.

This little predicament of theirs would have been absolutely freaking hilarious if it wasn't so damn dangerous. You know, you'd think he'd learn that saying "I think we're safe now" is practically a challenge for the universe to torment them as much as possible. Life is just sweet, isn't it?

...Nah. Unless you count being cornered and humiliated by a merciless mercenary who had broken the six feet mark and towered over you by a full foot "sweet". That's not his version of a good time, but that's what he has to deal with.

They ran as fast as they could manage, but- oh sweet deities above! Why must they always turn out unlucky like this?!

So yeah, it turns out going that way wasn't the smartest decision; there was a huge cliff- wall of dirt, more like- blocking their way. Well, it looks like the saying "stuck between a rock and a hard place" is coming into place, isn't it? Ha.. ha.. ha..

This isn't funny.

Jesse whipped around to face the horde of mobs, the hair on the back of his neck standing straight up, one shaky hand reaching into his inventory for his sword. He needed to protect Reuben at all costs. He would not lose another! He... just couldn't stand losing another friend.

His vlue eyes had glazed over in a fit of fear and desperation when he began to land an onslaught of erratic attacks on any monster that came too close to either of them, but he somehow missed a zombie that decided to attack Reuben.

Fury was like a violent shock through his veins, and he shoved his wooden blade as far into the zombie as possible before ripping it out. It soon vanished into a puff of smoke, leaving rotten flesh in its place.

A silent growl resonated within his chest, just slightly audible with each ragged breath he took, his hand clutching the handle of his weapon much too tightly. It was almost enough to destroy the damaged sword. He swung at another zombie, and while his attack did land, the wooden blade broke off its other half and did a completely three-sixty before it fell into some tall grass a fair bit away, then both the blade and the handle vanished in a puff of smoke.

"Run, Reuben!" He shouted over the groans and hissing and rattling of bones. Reuben gave Jesse a wide-eyed stare, but Jesse was determined. "Hurry, Reuben! I'm not losing you!"

With a defeated oink when noticing Jesse wasn't going to change his mind, the pig galloped back the way they'd came, just barely managing to dodge the halfhearted swing of a zombie near the edges of the mob horde.

Jesse watched over him carefully until he was swallowed up by the darkness, then he refocused his attention to the mobs. And he immediately got a personal, close up view of a spider lunging at him. How fun.

The force of the heavy body quickly unbalanced him and pushed him onto his back, and he found himself struggling to hold back the hissing monster with dripping fangs and multiple bright red eyes glaring down at him. Somehow he knew he was not going to get out of this with full health.

That really sucks. After this is all said and done, his friends are definitely going to "ground" him, which basically just means he will be banished inside the tree house with one of Olivia's cameras watching his every move.

The fangs slick with poison finally found purchase on the boy it had pinned beneath it, and Jesse gasped, successfully managing to kick the spider off him now. He scrambled back to put some distance between himself and the mobs, but the spider lunged again and he was struggling to save himself another dose of spider poison.

A flash of acidic gray caught his eye, and he recognized the shape as a pickax. The weight of the fairly big monster- big to him, at least- was finally removed from his chest, and he relaxed his tense muscles with a quiet, shaky sigh of relief. Someone was here to save him, he didn't have to defend anymore. He had made it.

He closed his eyes as a wave of nausea and pain washed over him, and consciousness began to seep away from him like water through his fingers.

"Shit! Shit! Fuck!" A voice was swearing rapidly somewhere to his right, though he couldn't find the energy to scold the person for their foul language. Despite the roughness of the familiar person's voice, he found he held not even the slightest bit of fear. He actually felt quite safe, much like he did with his friends. Their presence was weirdly comforting.

Another wave of agony hit him, and he tried- and failed, at that- to hold back the soft resulting whine. "Stay awake, Jesse! I'll kill you if you die on me!" _Do you really expect that to make sense? That's kind of contradictory now, isn't it?_

"Smart ass." They muttered, semi-bemused. Oh, had he had said that aloud? Oh well, he couldn't exactly give any craps right now. "Okay Jesse," They addressed him, and he opened his eyes instinctively. It was all just a blur, but the first thing he saw were their golden eyes.

Maybe he was hallucinating... "Hey... I need to pick you up and bring you somewhere safer, is that okay?" They asked.

He managed a nod to them, and he found there was a sudden and disturbing lack of solid ground beneath him as he was picked up. The nausea spiked up, of course, and he very lightly clung onto whoever this person was with a whimper. He was held just a little closer to them after that, and he relaxed fairly quickly.

Jesse soon came to the conclusion when the overwhelming queasy feeling faded a little that they were walking now. Slowly, but they were walking, nonetheless.

And with that, he slumped into unconsciousness in the arms of this unknown person.

...Golden eyes. Who the hell had golden eyes?

* * *

Meanwhile, Axel was watching in undisguised concern as his pig-tailed friend paced to and fro in front of the bench he was seated on with a tried slouch. "Olivia, you're going to wear a hole in the ground if you pace any harder." He told her gently, wincing when his comment was a heated glare.

"But what if he's hurt?!" Olivia shot back, her hands balling into fists, the skin on her knuckles lightening at the sheer amount of strength put behind this action.

He eyed her fists when he spoke. "Jesse isn't a child, Livie. He can protect himself. I'm more worried that you're going to go into Episode Five again."

Those dark onyx eyes softened a little, and she fell back onto the bench beside him with a long sigh. "You're right... You're right."

"'Course I am." The big guy responded, shaking his head fondly as he wrapped an arm around her shoulders. She always went through this 'Episode Five' when shit like this happened. It's best to make her sit down and actually use her big-ass brain.

Olivia leaned into him, eager to accept the comforting hold and warmth that it usually brought her, though she would never admit it out loud how much she appreciated this familiar gesture. She really didn't need to though, he always just knew.

Her concern for Jesse was not because of his small stature, but rather because be might decide to give up. Jesse was someone who hid his problems behind a lock and key. He masked his inner turmoil with an overly cheerful personality, false grins, and forced laughter. This was not the case all the time of course- they've had to have found out about it somehow, right?

"I hope you're right Axel." Olivia muttered, pulling up her legs and hugging them close to her chest. She set her chin atop her knees and closed her eyes. "If Jesse chooses not to fight for himself, then..."

Axel's expression took on a sharp edge at the mere thought, and his arm tightened around the lanky girl in wouldn't just give up like that, would he? Their small companion always seemed so determined, but what if all that "training" as Jesse called it was just a lie to try and keep them unaware? I really hope he doesn't do anything stupid out there... Olivia brooded, sinking closer yet to Axel.

Both dark-haired people were startled when they heard someone clearing their throat, and they looked up. Standing in front of them, and looking like he didn't know what to do with his hands, was Lukas.

Now they weren't going to be jerks to him just because he was the leader of the Ocelots. He hadn't ever stopped the rude interactions between the two teams, but he also never joined in.

"Sorry to, ah, intrude-" They both flushed a bright red and immediately parted with protests at the wording. Lukas merely appeared amused by their antics before he decided to continue. "-but I overheard you two talking about Jesse?"

When the brunette's name was mentioned, their faces fell into more solemn and worried ones. This made the blonde very concerned for the boy's well-being, and it seems he had reason to when they explained the situation to him.

Lukas's expression soured as he remembered that his own friend was the cause of all this trouble. "I'm sorry about Aiden's behavior. If he hadn't done that..." He trailed off with a sigh and kneaded his forehead. "Is there anything I can do to make up for it?" He asks hopefully.

That was something neither of them had really expected. They were both shocked into silence, which Axel was the first one to break. "Well, there's nothing any of us can really do right now."

Olivia broke out of her stupor when he said that, and bobbed her head in agreement with him. "There's the chance that Petra may find him." She spoke up, hopefully.

The Ocelot looked up, cyan eyes staring at the two of them. "If you say so. Just..." Another sigh."Call in a favor if you ever need anything, alright?" They mumbled agreements, then he began to walk away with more than a few glances back in concern. He hoped both Jesse and Reuben would turn up unharmed.

* * *

A finger was in the process of repeatedly poking his cheek despite how many times he had already hissed and swatted it away, and he's about had it with this person. He was still having trouble finding an identity for them though the poison had mostly worn off. Opening his eyes would probably help, but he really doesn't wanna.

"Wake up."

 _Well, I'm already awake, I just don't wanna get up._

"Lazy little shit."

 _Well, it has kind of been a really long day..._

"Do you want to have a rude awakening?"

That was most definitely a threat. Jesse finally obliged and blinked open his eyes, squeaking in shock when he saw a smirking face situated a mere inch above his own.

The person blinked in mild surprise before they suddenly jerked and fell onto their back, their body quite literally vibrating with glaringly obvious mirth. He felt his face burning as he sat up and scooted away from them. "Petra, what the fu- ah- f-fluff?!" He hissed out, recognizing her now that she wasn't right up in his face.

Petra was still quietly snickering away as she finally sat up. "Jesse. You are too damn adorable." She randomly commented as she stood up and leaned against the wall, forcing her laughter to cease, instead showing her amusement in her smirk.

Why, out of everyone it could've been, did it have to be the one and only person he finds truly annoying? With an eyeroll that he hoped she caught, the brunette used the wall to help himself stand up as well.

No way was he going to stay. He had to get out of here before she started harassing him or something. He doesn't look back at her as he started to head for the cave's exit, knowing exactly where it was since he's, unfortunately, been here before. "Great, I'm glad. Thanks, but I'm going to take my leave-"

Jesse doesn't know how the hell she got from one place to the other within the blink of an eye. One moment she was leaning against the wall and the another she was blocking his way with a glint in her golden eyes that made him quite wary. That never meant any good for him.

She picked him up and held him bridal-style in her arms, snickering as his pale face began to grow quite a bit redder. "Aw, do you like to be carried by me, little Cottontail?"

No. Freaking. Way. This had to be an hallucination- the poison was still kind of in affect, maybe it was that! Or maybe it's just some deranged nightmare or something! He pinches himself to check.

...Ow, okay. Nope, he's still being held bridal-style by the most annoying person he knows and he's not seeing pink elephants and struggling against a urge to puke, so he's not asleep and it's not the poison. Lovely, this was one hundred percent real.

Jesse just accepted his fate with a resigned growl, relaxing in her arms a bit despite how much he internally kicked himself for it. "I hate you."

"No you don't~"


End file.
